Memory of Holding Hands
by PPE
Summary: We need memories to help us grow and find our way when we get lost good memories and even a few bad ones.


Disclaimer: I don't own Full Metal Alchemist 

Winry Rockbell sat alone in her kitchen looking through an old photo book. She was currently flipping through the pages of her and the Elric brother's childhood. Nothing particular was catching her eyes.

Most of her photos just brought bad memories, and Winry didn't think she could take much more of that.

'What's the point of having a photo book full of memories, when all the memories are bad ones?_' _She was pulled out of her musings when a certain photo caught her attention. Winry's eyes widen in surprise.

"Why this is...

"_Winry wait! This isn't fair! I'm not in the mood to race today!" complained four year-old Ed. Winry giggled in response and ran faster. Watching as Ed slowed down to catch his breath; she stuck her tongue out and yelled back,_

"_It's not my fault that you can't run!" She was sure that that would tick him off and make him run harder. She was correct. Edward had taken off running again, this time at a much faster speed._

_Winry had thought that she would have been at least a few yards ahead of him. So she had thought that it would be safe enough to stop and turn around and look. She had been getting tired and decided to brag about her fast speed to Ed. She had just begun to turn around when; she had heard a huge thud, followed by a sick-crackling noise._

_Then she was face first, on the ground. _

"_Ouch! That really hurts!" Winry opened her eyes to find her ankle in a weird position. That scared her, and she began to cry a lot. Ed who was paralyzed by shock, rushed to her side to try and comfort her._

"_Shhh, Winry it's ok. Look, my mom's coming. She'll be here in a few minutes." Winry had stopped crying, but she still hadn't look convinced._

"_Here" Ed had picked up her hand to clean off the dirt, but when he had finished, he hadn't let go. That had completely distracted Winry from the pain in her ankle and had left her with a strange feeling of comfort and awe. _

_She didn't even have time to respond before she heard a click and looked up to find Mrs. Elric holding a camera in her hands._

"_I'm sorry, I know this isn't the time, but…_

Winry couldn't remember the rest of Mrs. Elric's explanation. 'It had something to do with us needing more memories, even if they weren't always good ones.'

Winry looked back at the photo of her and Ed sitting in that ditch holding hands, when another, forbidden memory came to her mind.

She hadn't remembered what had been said; she just remembered the feelings, but then again – she didn't really want to remember any of it at all…

_She had been sitting with her grandmother by the fire. They had been discussing old past times when there had been a huge knock at the door; but before anyone had had time to get it – it had come flying open…_

…_Winry had been frightened by the new appearance of Al, but what had frightened her most was what he had been holding in his arms…_

…_The sight of her beloved Ed had been almost too much for her, especially without an arm or a leg. Then she had been pushed out of the way as her grandmother had come. They had all been taken to a back room immediately, but had left Winry out… _

…_There had been lots of screaming, and even crying. That had terrified Winry the most. Then her grandmother had come out looking for tools and heading for the basement. Then she had gone into the room…_

…_She had entered the room and had caught sight of Ed lying down. She knew he had been crying. She had thought of the time when she was little and how Ed had comforted her…_

…_Winry had wanted to hold his right hand, but couldn't. So she had walked around the table and picked up his left hand to clean off all the blood. He had been awake when she had done that but hadn't responded to her… _

…_Then her grandmother had re –entered and had told Ed about making a prosthetic. Winry had decided that, that was her time to leave and had started towards the door. She had just about let go of Ed's hand when he had suddenly grabbed it again and given her hand a desperate squeeze... _

…_He had asked her something that she would never forget. He had said,_

"_Hold my hand" and then Winry had been magically drawn back to the table to stand by Ed; and had held his left hand for the entire procedure… _

Winry sighed. The rest of it was pretty much a painful blur that didn't need to be finished. Flipping over to the back of the photo she saw a small message.

It read: 'we need memories to help us grow and find our way when we get lost; good memories and even a few bad ones'

She closed the book.


End file.
